Robin McKelvie reels through Scotland’s top film locations
If you start to list all the major films that have been shot in Scotland you might well be surprised at just how many there are. It should be no surprise really as Scotland has a dramatic cinematic quality, from its epic mountains through to its sweeping beach fringed coastline, not to mention fairytale castles Disney can only dream of. Take a prime seat now as I run through a reel of Hollywood’s love affair with Scotland with a wealth of locations for you to visit.
The movie world’s fascination with Scotland is nothing new. Delve back through the archives and you come across the original Whisky Galore, shot on location in Scotland in 1949. It was not actually filmed on Eriskay, which inspired Sir Compton Mackenzie’s novel, but on neighbouring Barra.
A remake of Whisky Galore was released just last month starring Eddie Izzard. Filming this time took in the Aberdeenshire villages of Portsoy and Pennan, St Abb’s Head in the Borders, St Monans in Fife’s East Neuk and even the Central Bar in Renton, West Dunbartonshire, so you can easily follow the trail if you enjoy the film.
A real breakthrough for Scotland on the silver screen came in 1983 with the blockbuster Local Hero, which starred Burt Lancaster as a cynical oilman being charmed and then won around by the local community. The village that is so romantically depicted on screen was again sleepy wee Pennan.
They are well used to fans walking into the Pennan Inn (www.thepennaninn.co.uk) to ask questions about the film. If you are after the gorgeous starched white beaches that for me trump any of the actors you will have to hotfoot it from the North Sea across to the Atlantic as the beach scenes were actually filmed on the pristine beaches around Morar.
Scotland hit screens around the globe again with 1995’s epic Braveheart. Mel Gibson of course took on the lead role of folk hero William Wallace. It’s fair to say that the film took a few shortcuts with history, but I’d recommend watching it before you head for Glen Nevis where some key scenes were shot.
Hollywood was going Scotland daft in 1995 as that is when another Scottish folk hero, Rob Roy, also hit the big screen. This time Liam Neeson did the honours as Scotland’s Robin Hood, legendary Rob Roy. Unlike Braveheart – which decamped across the Irish Sea for some shooting – Rob Roy was filmed entirely in Scotland. Look out for the likes of Glen Coe, Glen Nevis, and Glen Tarbert all making impressive cameos.
A warrior of a very different type is James Bond. Scotland has been a recurrent star in the Bond films. One of its most memorable leading roles came when Eilean Donan Castle became a spectacular Highland base for MI6 in 1999’s The World is Not Enough. How could we ever forget the machine gun bagpipes!
Perhaps even more memorable were the roles played by Glen Coe and Glen Etive in Skyfall in 2012. Daniel Craig as Bond steered his vintage Aston Martin here for the deeply dramatic denouement. The brooding, mist ravaged glens definitely steal the show from both the car and Craig. Watch the film before you next head through Glen Coe and you will instantly recognise where they filmed.
Doune Castle near Stirling has gained worldwide fame recently as Castle Leoch in the epic time travelling TV smash Outlander. Did you know that this hulking fortress also featured in 1975’s Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Indeed if you head there today you can enjoy the surreal experience of taking an audio tour narrated by none other than Terry Gilliam.
The Monty Python team might have had fun satirising the outlandish adventures of Harry Potter and you can certainly have fun following in the filmic footsteps of the most famous wizard – if we discount the theory that Merlin was born here – to have roamed the Scottish glens. The most striking setting Potter enjoys is when the Hogwarts Express sweeps around the epic 21 arches of the Glenfinnan Viaduct. Jump on the Jacobite (www.westcoastrailways.co.uk) steam train and you can enjoy the same trip that appeared in no fewer than four Potter films.
Disney-Pixar’s 2012 animated epic Brave boasted a voiceover cast full of big names such as Emma Thompson and Scotland’s Robbie Coltrane. The locations may have been imagined, but I spoke to the production team and they spent weeks touring Scotland looking for inspiration. It’s great fun watching Brave looking out for the locations that inspired them. See if you can spot Glen Affric, Stirling Castle’s Great Hall and Dun Carloway on Lewis, surely the inspiration for the broch. Lastly, the fairytale castle of Dunbroch looks to me like a collage of Dunottar, Urquhart and Eilean Donan.
A grittier Scotland was presented to the world thanks to Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting in 1996. The film launched the stellar careers of Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle and Kevin McKidd. Much of the filming was done along the M8 in Glasgow, but for me the most iconic scene, when McGregor’s Renton legs it along Princes Street and gets hurled on to the street by a car on Calton Road, is most definitely filmed in Edinburgh!
This year, of course, saw the return of Boyle and the Trainspotting boys with Trainspotting 2, or simply T2 as it has become better known. Again not everyone’s cup of tea, the capital came out of filming still managing to look good at least in parts. Edinburgh Airport, the Forth Bridge and the new Edinburgh Trams are all in there.
Out in the isles Skye has emerged as a serious location player in recent years. Skye’s cinematic lineage is strong too, dating as far back as the 1970s. The Land that Time Forgot (1975), which featured the Quiraing and the Old Man of Storr in its final scenes.
Stardust in 2007 saw Michelle Pfieffer’s nefarious character Lamia stalk the Quiraing as she sets out to hunt down Yvaine, a fallen star, while Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) had the Quiraing forming the spectacular landscape that stood behind the enchanted forest and snow forest. Yet again the Quiraing made it big in 2013’s 47 Ronin, a samurai adventure starring Keanu Reeves, when these unmistakable jagged mountains were used as the location of the film’s giant Buddha.
In Autumn 2015 I was lucky enough to get along to the premiere in Edinburgh of the Macbeth blockbuster starring man of the moment Michael Fassbender. The movie very dramatically stars the Isle of Skye. Head here and you can tick off scenes that were shot at the Quiraing and the Old Man of Storr, as well as cameos from the Glen Brittle Forest, the Fairy Pools and Sligachan.
The Isle of Skye was again to the fore last year with the release of Steven Spielberg’s lavish animated film BFG. Based on the novel by Roald Dahl, this brilliantly done childrens’ adventure spans the generations in appeal and its jaw-dropping mountains were definitely inspired by Skye’s rugged mountainscapes. Skye is perfect as the film’s ‘Giant Country’.
Skye’s mountains have again been called into action as the fitting setting for the new King Arthur: Legend of the Sword film, which just last month brought the largest of the Inner Hebrides back to global cinema audiences. Some historians have raised the idea that Arthur may actually have been born in Scotland so the isle makes for an apt location. Then also released later this year will be Transformers: The Last Knight, which again draws heavily on Skye.
Skye and Scotland in general for me always make for great locations as you will find out it you finish your popcorn now and plan a wee cinematic trip around Scotland’s deeply cinematic landscapes.
info Visit Scotland’s website has a handy section on films shot in Scotland www.visitscotland.com/see-do/attractions/tv-film/.
Hotel of the Fortnight
I’m a big fan of the new trend in serviced apartments. They generally offer much more space and privacy than a hotel room, but sometimes I miss all the trappings of a hotel. Edinburgh’s Chester Residence is a treat as it offers typical hotel features like breakfast and a residents’ bar to go along with stylish accommodation. That the apartments are set in grand Georgian sandstone townhouses is a bonus. I’ve stayed a few times with my young family and we’ve always enjoyed the experience. Make sure to book on the ground floor if you would like your own private garden in the West End of Edinburgh. www.chester-residence.com.
Travel Tip
Check out the Smokin’ Fox
A new trendy restaurant seems to open up every time I visit Glasgow, but sometimes the latest hot opening can turn out to be a case of style over substance. I’ve just dined at the new Smokin’ Fox in the city centre and I’m happy to report it delivers on the plate as well as the looks front. My starter of plump Shetland mussels cooked with cider and bacon was delicious, as was my Scottish beef ribeye, which came accompanied by rosemary infused chips, garlic mushrooms, haggis and thyme butter. The food is good value and the wines are reasonably priced too. www.smokinfox.co.uk
